


Dog days

by berryboys



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 13:31:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9899336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/berryboys/pseuds/berryboys
Summary: Jeno doesn’t hate Yuta - he’s kind and funny and treats him like he’s his younger brother - but he hates any older guy that attracts Renjun’s attention





	

**Author's Note:**

> So I made this account merely to post short fics, and the first attempt wasn't that short, but oh well :D My other account, for long fics, is [berryboys](http://archiveofourown.org/users/berryboys)  
> I wanted to write noren so badly, since they're giving us so many moments this era, and here it goes

Renjun pushes the gum inside his mouth with his tongue and announces, “Yuta hyung is so hot.”

Jeno has seen that coming. Which doesn’t mean, under any circumstance, that it’s a pleasant statement to hear. Yes, of course, Yuta is hot: he has pretty, big eyes with large eyelashes, a charming smile and a cute as hell nose; he has really nice thighs and calves, and his waist and hips are thin but his abdomen has lines in the right places. Jeno doesn’t hate Yuta - he’s kind and funny and treats him like he’s his younger brother - but he hates any older guy that attracts Renjun’s attention. And much to his disgrace, Renjun seems to have a knack for flirting with older boys that aren’t even going to notice he exists. He tried to explain this to him once, but Renjun lives in his own world, and he doesn’t appreciate much when someone breaks his fantasies.

“Ew,” Mark replies.

“Ew you,” Renjun protests, eyes roaming from Mark’s head to his toes in a way that would provoke a stupid fight if they weren’t friends. “You’ve proven to have bad taste, anyway.”

Donghyuck, who is currently stuffing his mouth with sweets in the other corner of the living room, catches that and exclaims, “Hey!”

“Why are you offended? Mark doesn’t like you,” Renjun points out. For a moment, the conversation is interesting enough so that he takes his eyes off Yuta, yet that only lasts enough for him to send a malicious smirk towards Donghyuck. Then, his gaze is on the older boy again, glassy and unfocused eyes. Jeno really feels like punching something.

Since summer began, hanging out at Mark’s place has become a habit for them. It happened by chance, one day in which Donghyuck was especially whiny about his legs hurting and needing some rest. Mark’s house was the closest one, and that’s when Jeno’s bad luck came into the game. Mark’s brother, Taeyong, was there with his friends by the time they arrived, around four or five college boys in swim trunks and shirtless, swimming in the pool.

That had been The Problem. Donghyuck and Renjun weren’t the type to renounce to have such views when they were so accessible, and therefore they dragged the rest of their friends to Mark’s house almost every day just to ogle Taeyong’s friends. Jeno remembers that Renjun was, once upon a time, an innocent kid that would blink at them in obliviousness when someone asked him if he had had a crush on someone before. As though he didn’t know what that was. Perhaps because of their influence, and because Donghyuck taints everyone around him, now Renjun is the best partner for Donghyuck to stare at attractive guys and gush about them in not so hushed voices. It has passed one month since this nightmare started, and they have already fled from talking about how handsome they are, to talk about how hot they are and how many babies they would have with them. Jeno fears the future.

“Yuta isn’t that hot,” Jeno grumbles, looking everywhere except at Renjun’s face. Unluckily, his eyes fall on Yuta, who is getting out of the swimming pool in that instant, running a hair through his wet hair like he’s shooting a shampoo commercial. That serves to mock Jeno’s words just fine.

More often than not, Renjun doesn’t accept any critic towards Yuta’s looks. On the contrary, this time he laughs so hard that he startles Mark and Donghyuck, covering his mouth with his hand in the process. And Jeno thinks that’s cute, both his teeth gap and his attempt to hide it, until Renjun wiggles his eyebrows at him and says, “Jealous, huh?”

Jeno is, indeed, so jealous that he could explode. He can only hope that when he does, his blood spoils Yuta’s beautiful face.

 

 

 

 

“Why did Renjun say that?” Jeno whines the next day, face sunk in Jaemin’s pillow. His words come out muffled, but Jeno is aware that his friends can understand him, too used to him mumbling his sentences instead of speaking out loud. “Does he know I like him?”

Jaemin is sitting on the floor of his own bedroom, and when Jeno shifts his head to look at him, he finds Jaemin’s big eyes staring at him like he has grown two heads. However, Mark, next to Jaemin, keeps scrolling through his Ipad like this is the most boring chat he has ever heard.

“Have you just admitted you like Renjun?” Jaemin gasps. As Jeno puckers his lips at him like an idiot, Jaemin raises his hand to shush any answer he could come up with. “Give me a second, I’m in shock.”

Mark dedicates them a second of attention to announce, “You know, my brother and Yuta are a thing, kind of. You don’t have to worry.”

As usual, Mark is tremendously oblivious at his feelings. It’s odd how he doesn’t understand anyone’s crushes except his own, and how no one except Jeno has discovered the way his eyes sparkle when Donghyuck is around. Jeno wonders if both of them, Mark and himself, are just as hopeless.

“Not even for a second I thought Yuta would like Renjun, you dumbass. I’m worried because Renjun doesn’t have eyes for anyone else,” Jeno moans.

Jaemin reaches out his hand and smacks the back of his thigh, scowling. “It isn’t that serious, and don’t you dare to talk to your hyung like that,” he scolds, ignoring Jeno’s yelp of pain. Mark draws a shit eating grin behind his Ipad, but doesn’t bother to hide it very well. “You don’t think Taeyong’s friends are hot, for real?”

That isn’t the topic, really, and Jeno thinks it’s an unwarranted attack he doesn’t deserve. So he lies, shaking his head from side to side with too much enthusiasm for his friends to believe him.

Jaemin rolls his eyes and sighs. Then, he extends his fingers and bends them inwards one by one with each name, “Youngho, Yuta, Jaehyun, Doyoung, Taeil or Taeyong himself. Choose the hottest one.”

Judging Jaemin’s expression, he isn’t going to let him escape from this, so Jeno resignedly mumbles, “Taeyong,”

“Dude, he’s my brother!” Mark protests, grossed out.

“You guys asked, I answered. I said I don’t like any of them!”

“Hey there,” Jaemin soothes Mark, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. Though that seems to kill Mark’s will to complain, he keeps on grimacing at Jeno like he has just committed a sin. “It’s not Jeno’s fault your brother is hot. But that’s not the point here, my boys, the point is we’re giving Renjun his own medicine.”

 

 

 

 

Jeno is a bad liar. And he hates, in any case, to make people suffer. Donghyuck calls it _to be so nice that you’re an actual fool_ , but Jeno doesn’t mind, that trait is ingrained too deep in his personality and in his education. And until now, he has had a preference for boys like him; that’s why he felt kind of fascinated with Renjun at first. Renjun seemed to be the typical good boy, and don’t mistake Jeno, he’s still fascinated and still sure that Renjun is pure of heart. Just not that innocent. But it’s too late to suppress his feelings: Renjun is able to flash one of his infamous angelic smiles and Jeno immediately forgets other boys exist. There’s no use in trying to ignore he’s screwed.

Thus, given his excessive kindness, he’s mute when Jaemin jabs his elbow into his side, propelling him to follow the plan. His friend is too smart to not notice that he intends to stay silent instead, and Jeno can notice how he holds back a snort. With his best artificial, robotic voice, Jaemin asks, “So, Jeno, if you don’t think Yuta is hot, who is?”

What happens next is what Jeno was attempting to avoid: all his friends, except Mark, who already knows this stupid story, turn to him with expectant expressions. Jeno doesn’t have the courage to meet Renjun’s gaze. Considering how fast his friends forgot about the college boys, who are currently stripping down to their swim shorts, Jeno and his taste in men must be a vital topic for them.

“Hm?” Jaemin insists, like the devil he is.

“Taeyong,” Jeno replies with a whisper, because that’s what he’s supposed to say. And he blushes, too, since although all this is a set up, he’s not used to speak so openly about this issue.

“That was so predictable,” Donghyuck laments, giving him a roll of his eyes to add a dramatic effect. “Of course you would be into that type of guy: _sickeningly_ cute.”

“Did you use _sickeningly_ to describe my brother?” Mark snaps, and much to everyone’s surprise, Donghyuck pouts at him to save his own ass. Mark raises his index finger, alarmed, and threatens, “Don’t do that, what the fuck.”

If Jeno wasn’t too bothered by the whole situation to inspect and analyze Renjun’s reaction, he would have noticed that he’s staring at his own nails, apparently disinterested. But more disinterested is Chenle, which isn’t a surprise, for he claims that older people are boring and that includes all of them too.

However, Renjun decides to take part in the end, but doesn’t raise his gaze to do so. “You obviously don’t know what hot means. Hot isn’t cute. Hot is hot.”

Jeno frowns, unsure of what Renjun is talking about. Because Renjun is cute, and Jeno likes him a lot, how is that not valid? He could grow into one of those hot guys, as he calls them, and Jeno would still find him cute as fuck. He doesn’t understand his logic.

To his fortune, it’s not because he’s stupid, but because Renjun isn’t making any sense, which is confirmed when Donghyuck laughs and says, “I think you’ve just killed some of my neurons.”

“Neurons, in plural?” Jaemin scoffs. The second surprise of the day is that Mark immediately slaps him in the back of the head for bullying Donghyuck, and the whole group freezes. Because Mark isn’t violent, and less to defend Donghyuck’s silly, filthy mouth. Jaemin spits a, “Are you high?”

“I’m kicking all of you out,” Mark announces, and he stands up to prove his point, except no one reacts at that. A smirk spreads both on Donghyuck and Renjun’s lips, but they don’t comment on Mark’s lack of power. “My brother and his friends aren’t animals at the zoo to look at.”

Renjun teases, “Are you sure? You should see them right now.”

Mark does just that, spinning around, and flushes red to the tip of his ears when he spots Yuta biting Taeyong’s neck from behind, arms encircling him with the intention of shoving him into the pool. They can hear Taeyong’s screams and laughter even through the thick windows from the living room, and yes, that indeed doesn’t sound quite human.

 

 

 

 

Jaemin’s plans are never good, and therefore the trick of making Renjun jealous of Taeyong doesn’t work at all. Or perhaps Renjun doesn’t care about Jeno, which is disheartening and an option that Jeno consistently ignores. Just like the rest, Renjun is his friend and he could consider himself just that. Jeno might have been the only one suffering a bad case of butterflies in his stomach every time he’s left alone with Renjun, every time Renjun holds his hand or laughs so loud that it hurts Jeno’s eardrums.

Following the natural course of his life, Jeno often whimpers to Jaemin, and his friend deals with it the best way he’s able to, which isn’t much. Meanwhile, Mark is so done with everyone that he forbids visiting his house for at least one week – though in several occasions, Jeno finds Donghyuck taking the bus that leaves you right in front of Mark’s house. He makes up the worst excuses Jeno has ever heard, but it’s pretty entertaining to watch Mister Confident stutter and blush.

Thus, Jaemin is stuck with Jeno, his sad love life and his professional whiner skills. Capable of staying the night at Jaemin’s without an invitation, for example, conscious that Jaemin’s mother loves him more than her own son.

“Can someone die from a broken heart?” Jeno asks once they go to sleep, right after Jaemin turns the lights off. Even though they’re sleeping in different beds, on extreme opposites, Jeno detects the exasperated sigh that escapes Jaemin’s mouth. “Because I think I’m going to.”

One of Jaemin’s pillows flies into Jeno’s face through the darkness, neatly aimed. Jeno is divided between being impressed or affronted. “No, but you can die if I choke you,” his friend roars.

“Please, choke me. I don’t want to live anymore.”

“Shut up,” Jaemin miserably cries out. “Just confess to him. You’re so handsome that I can’t even look at you, he won’t reject you.”

Jeno throws the covers off, runs barefooted towards Jaemin, and slips into his bed with an excited gasp. Jaemin screams a little, not expecting that, but the shock is soon substituted by frustration when Jeno pleads, “Teach me to confess.”

Jaemin kicks him out of the bed.

 

 

 

 

Jeno has no idea what gets into Renjun for him to pull him aside the next day. One moment Jeno is looking at shoes he can’t afford, Donghyuck perched to his side to criticize his taste, and the next he’s out of the shop, Renjun scowling at him. It’s odd to witness this, because Renjun is a perpetually happy boy that only frowns to look cool in his selfies.

Jeno feels breathless as Renjun questions him, demanding, “What’s up with you and Jaemin?”

Perhaps because Renjun is so pretty that Jeno can’t think straight, he wonders for a moment if there’s something between him and Jaemin. They are childhood friends, their families know each other, and they bicker so often that people sometimes ask them if they’re brothers. Jeno doesn’t think that’s a problem, however, so he’s lost trying to follow Renjun’s train of thought. “Me and Jaemin?”

Renjun presses his lips together, so hard that the borders of his mouth become white. “Yes,” he hisses, and _oh_ , Jeno notices, _he’s mad_? “You’re attached at the hip lately.”

Needless to say, the right answer is to assure he’s treating Jaemin as he has always done. But that might not be true: Jeno has been clinging to him excessively for moral support, even if Renjun ignores he’s the reason. “I guess?”

Renjun squints at him, “Why.”

Jeno shrugs, profoundly confused with Renjun’s behavior. “Does it matter?” he retorts, or at least he tries to make it sound strong; his vocal cords decide to betray him in that moment, like he’s hitting puberty all of a sudden, and his voice comes out more high pitched than it should ever be.

Renjun limits himself to send him a glare and strides back into the shop. It takes Jeno ten hours to realize what Renjun was actually asking.

 

 

 

 

Jeno isn’t staring at anything, really. It’s another summer day, it’s 2000 degrees in Jeno’s opinion, and it’s indubitably too hard to focus. Yes, it just so happens that Jeno’s gaze is fixed on Taeyong’s ass, in a pair of tight jeans, but he might as well be staring at the world burning down and he wouldn’t realize. Taeyong’s ass is in the way, and that is not Jeno’s fault. He’s not even interested.

But then out of the blue there are lips against his cheek, a sweet, wet peck, and Jeno needs a second to get over his shock and turns his head to discover the one at fault. When he faces Renjun, who is batting his eyelashes at him in the most innocent way possible, Jeno sputters, “The fuck.”

Jeno must have has his head in the clouds for too long, because everyone except him and Renjun has gone out to the swimming pool. Taeyong appeared just seconds ago, so for how long has he been with his crush, alone, in the living room? Did his friends plot this?

Renjun arches his eyebrows at him, “What? You didn’t like it?”

There’s no way Jeno won’t embarrass himself if he continues this conversation. Or, as an alternative, no way he won’t confess he wants to marry Renjun and that he would run away to Las Vegas with him right now if he agreed to. So Jeno does what he would usually do if he wasn’t too self-conscious and whipped for this boy: try to kiss him back. On the couch, Renjun has no escape, yet he giggles and moves away, probably because Jeno is grabbing him by the waist and he’s terribly ticklish. That’s the aim though, to dissolve the tension and wipe off the serious expression on Renjun’s face, and it works. Only when Jeno manages to plant a sonorous kiss on his cheek, Renjun stops laughing, placated as if he was a puppy and Jeno had just petted him.

And well, they’re looking at each other’s eyes, in silence, the playful atmosphere fading away and becoming something else. Naturally, Jeno thinks this is a great chance to lean and change the location of that kiss. Except because someone fakes a cough, and both he and Renjun snap out of their daze to discover that Lee Taeyong is still in the living room, glancing at them like they’re teenage delinquents.

“Kids, this isn’t your room,” he informs them, narrowing his eyes at them, in case they have forgotten after spending too much time at Mark’s. Taeyong corrects himself, “Not even your house.”

Renjun bolts out so fast that Jeno wonders if he’s planning to join the track team next year.

 

 

 

 

In the middle of the summer, Renjun dyes his hair red. He doesn’t tell anyone about it beforehand, and that’s so typical of him that when he first shows up with his brand new red hair, there’s a deep, unimpressed silence among their group of friends. Jeno might or might not choke a bit on his own saliva, however, hoping that his shock doesn’t show on his face. It’s a pity, in reality, because Renjun will be allowed to have that color for maybe a month, and he will have to dye it back to black before school starts.

“Do I look good?” Renjun smugly asks Jeno, jumping onto the space next to him. They have decided to meet at Donghyuck’s home to play games, but Chenle and Donghyuck himself are hogging the controls and the hardest task in this world is to convince one of them to voluntarily give them up.

Jeno gulps, overwhelmed. “Yeah.”

Unfortunately, his friends are paying too much attention, and Donghyuck snickers, “Are you pissing your pants, man?”  
All the wittiness Jeno has ever owned is busy with not making Jeno screech like a five-year-old for Renjun’s hair, hence he doesn’t have strength to come up with a good comeback for Donghyuck. He’s figuratively pissing his pants, anyhow. Unexpectedly, it’s Renjun who leaps across the couch to punch Donghyuck in the arm, which ends up being an effective way to force him to drop the control. Jaemin is the fastest to take advantage of the situation and dive for the control, a satisfied grin plastered on his face.

“Okay, whatever,” Donghyuck grumbles, rubbing his arm. “I didn’t want to play anymore.”

Although it’s evident that’s a lie, no one bothers to contradict him. Soon he’s proposing Mark to go to the kitchen for food, which is quite suspicious, but as usual only Jeno seems to think so. Perhaps he’s crazy, and he’s imagining his friends have been acting weird lately. Not that his sanity matters, or even exits, when Renjun entangles their arms together, head falling onto Jeno’s shoulder.

While Jaemin gives them a significant look, Chenle complains, “We’ve reached a point in which it’s hard to be around you two.”

Renjun clicks his tongue in disagreement, “You’re just bitter.”

“Bitter about what?” Jeno asks, perplexed, and for some reason the three boys laugh at him. “What did I say?”

“Nothing,” Renjun assures him, almost coos at him, and Jeno feels the heat invading his face. “You’re too cute.”

 

 

 

 

Jeno’s crazy crush on Renjun has a bit of irony to it, after all. Jeno was the last to enter Renjun’s life, to breach his emotional defenses, although they were the closest ones in age and had similar interests in almost everything – music, sports (aka, none), dramas and books. Jaemin, who was practically his opposite, had been the first to consider Renjun a friend.

However, they have progressed since then. At first, Renjun and Jeno couldn’t be alone at all; they would try to talk to each other and be a mess, not even able to form intelligent sentences, conversations making little to no sense. It’s a mystery how they evolved to be the cuddliest pair among their friends, but it might have to do with Renjun growing up, gaining a confidence that he didn’t have before. Jeno can’t complain though, because this type of relationship with Renjun feels natural; the awkwardness and the tension weren’t natural, and he’s glad they have moved on from that.

It’s not odd for them to hang out by themselves, thus Jeno doesn’t understand why Renjun is so quiet _today_. So shy.

“Should we call the others?” Jeno proposes, disappointed, after one hour of attempting to calm Renjun down. He has failed, for the boy keeps playing with the hem of his own t-shirt, nervous, and glances at him like Jeno is becoming an alien by the second.

Renjun nods, “Let’s get Mark and Donghyuck.”

That’s a very specific answer, but Jeno doesn’t dare to ask why they’re leaving Jaemin and Chenle out. They walk together to Donghyuck’s house, which is in Jeno’s neighbourhood, and his mother invites them inside, confirming that Mark and Donghyuck are in the latter’s room. Jeno should have stopped this idea right then, as they hurry to the room, his instinct pinching his insides. But he doesn’t. Renjun is faster than him, and by the time he has his hand on the knob, Jeno can only open his mouth.

Mistake Number One is that Renjun hasn’t knocked on the door.

Mark is lying on the bed, and Donghyuck is on his side, partially on top of him. And well, it isn’t that shocking for Jeno to see they’re kissing, but the way they’re kissing _is_ : Donghyuck is petting Mark’s hair with so much tenderness that it doesn’t suit him at all – it’s like watching a lion kiss a tiny, guileless kitty - while Mark is caressing his back. It’s scandalously obvious they have been doing this for months.

Renjun shuts the door close, gasping, not realizing that’s the worst thing he can do. The noise alerts the boys, judging the exclamations coming from inside, and panicking, Renjun hisses at him, “Run!”

It’s absurd, but Jeno obeys right away. They escape from the house, and Jeno tries to wave Donghyuck’s mother goodbye before leaving, yet Renjun grabs his hand and pulls. Jeno isn’t sure why they’re even running, since Donghyuck and Mark can’t do anything to them. In any case, they could blackmail them with this. Yet Jeno doesn’t mind despite the foolishness of the situation, not when this has come to a very fulfilling end: holding hands with Renjun.

Renjun doesn’t let go once they halt, both of them panting between laughter. They’re at an old, small park, that looks pretty abandoned, and Jeno doesn’t remember having been here before; he wonders how Renjun would know a place like this in his neighbourhood, for his steps were definitely leading here on purpose.

He can’t ponder about it, anyhow, because as soon as Renjun recovers his breath, he confesses, “I thought Mark was straight.”

Taking into account how perplexed he seems to be, he’s saying the truth. Jeno can’t help but erupt into laughter, “For real?”

“What? He never said anything,” Renjun whines, hitting Jeno on the shoulder for laughing at him. There’s a small frown between his eyebrows, a very cute one that Jeno is tempted to ease with his index finger. “He hangs out with girls a lot.”

Jeno shakes his head, amused, “You have a scary level of obliviousness, Renjun.”

Usually, Renjun would throw a mordant reply without even thinking. This time he doesn’t. He bites down on his lower lip, pensive, and murmurs, “I don’t think so. Look who is talking.”

Jeno blinks at him, noticing his rosy cheeks from running and the teasing smile on his equally rosy lips. It’s an automatic reaction: Jeno licks his own lips, feeling his mouth very dry out of the blue. “What?” he breathes out, so weakly that he doubts Renjun hears it.

Whether Renjun is listening to him or not, that doesn’t matter. He steps forward, settles his palms on Jeno’s chest and leaves them there, taking a deep breath. It’s likely he can sense Jeno’s rapid heartbeat through the clothes, but he looks just as agitated, eyes travelling from Jeno’s eyes to his lips and back.

Jeno has never seen Renjun’s face so close, so close that he can’t even distinguish his red hair from this angle. Renjun has the most beautiful black eyes, and Jeno is familiar with them, but for some reason that thought slips into his head until it’s hard to breath. Perhaps because he’s hypnotized by Renjun’s pupils, or by the touch of his hands, Jeno relaxes and leans forward until their noses gently bump into each other. The ghost of a smile flashes through Renjun’s face, like he knows Jeno hasn’t kissed anyone in his entire life, before tilting his head so they can kiss comfortably. It’s then when Renjun closes the rest of distance, lips fitting against his like a puzzle, and the world disappears around Jeno.

Jeno is clumsy, he’s aware of that. But Renjun doesn’t seem to mind, guides him in the kiss when he tries to open his mouth too soon or too much, and his lips are so soft that Jeno finds himself getting dizzy. He isn’t brave enough to do anything apart from holding Renjun’s hips, fingers trembling until they have a good grasp. When Renjun pulls away, eyes closed for a few seconds, Jeno follows his mouth pitifully, not ready to finish yet. That surprises Renjun and Jeno himself, but instead of making fun of him, Renjun decides to tame him with a last peck on his lips.

Renjun draws a lazy smile, smoothing Jeno’s shirt, and assures, “You’re quite hot too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this mess  
> I'm accepting prompts now :D But I can't promise 100% I will write everything I get  
> [Curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/berryboys)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/renjucas)  
> [Commissions](https://twitter.com/renjucas/status/1013749339364249600)


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